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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

I thought that the EB House update I posted on 16 November 2014 would be the last for this year, but life being life, developments happen and I want to share a couple of things that have occurred just today. Before I go further, I want to reiterate, THE EB HOUSE IS JUST FINE. And I want to thank the friends of the EB House who came to its defense yesterday, and posted comments on Facebook, assuring that all is well at this dear old place.

The first development to relate is that the work on Highway 2 in front of the Wilson's gas stop and the EB House has begun -- necessitated because of the new bridge. I want to thank Patti Sharpe for the photos I am posting, all taken this morning. The first photo is the view from Station Road. You can see the pavement being removed and a lot of activity. The second photo shows the front of the EB House, showing the very reason why we wanted to wait until spring to finish restoring the front lawn.

The second matter is slightly distressing. Last night there was more heavy rain in Nova Scotia and the Great Village River flooded again. This flooding was of a more normal nature (though flooding in November is really not the norm -- any more than flooding on the equinox was, but that event was of an exceptional nature -- once in a hundred years, we hope!). The river overflowed this morning, but in a more normal way, along its sides, rather than with a the wall of water that came crashing from upriver in September.

I have been told by people in the village that the river never really went down to a normal level after the September flood, and it caused concern. My hope is that once the cold really settles in, all this rain will ease. I am told by Brazilian Bishop scholar Carmen Oliveira that there are places in Brazil, Sao Paulo, for example, which are suffering drought. Is there a way we can collect this rain and ship it to the southern hemisphere?! The yard at the EB House was not adversely affected, though I suspect that back part of the property is very wet -- but that is not out of the ordinary, either. The photo below shows the view from the old bridge, looking west.

I also want to mention that, weather permitting, it is our intention to hold an Open House at the EB House on Saturday, 29 November. That is a day of much activity in Great Village. There will be a holiday dinner and a Christmas concert at St. James Church that evening. So, I am hoping for a dry, clear day. I will post a more formal notice about this event next week.

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John Barnstead

I retired in 2014 after forty years of teaching Russian language and literature. I'm a past president of the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia.

Sandra Barry

I am a poet, independent scholar, freelance editor, and secretary of the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia.

Suzie LeBlanc

I am a professional singer who recently became a great admirer of Elizabeth Bishop's writing. I am also fond of walking and nature and I became involved with the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary because I wanted to have her poems set to music so that I could sing them.